Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) said Friday that it will make its webOS mobile operating system available to software developers and device-makers as an open-source platform, rather than selling the remaining assets of its ill-fated, $1.2 billion acquisition of Palm last year.

“It is a remarkable technology that we didn’t want to waste,” CEO Meg Whitman said in an interview, after acknowledging that HP had explored various options, including selling the critically praised webOS code to another company.

Distributing the code under an open-source model means that HP is unlikely to get a financial return in the near future. HP had once hoped to use the software, which was created by Palm, for a line of HP smartphones, tablets and other devices. But Whitman’s predecessor as CEO abruptly canceled those plans in August after HP’s webOS-powered TouchPad failed to gain traction against Apple’s (AAPL) phenomenally popular iPad.

Since then, the software’s future had been in question. Despite wide speculation about prospective suitors, no other company publicly expressed interest in buying the operating system. Industry experts said it seemed the market was already saturated with more popular systems created by Apple, Google (GOOG) and others.

Under an open-source model, outside developers and manufacturers will have wide latitude to use the software and help create new versions. Whitman said HP has not yet decided how it will structure the open-source license or whether commercial entities — such as a smartphone maker looking for an alternative to Google’s widely used Android operating system — would be required to share some revenue from certain uses.

HP said last month that it had written off $3.3 billion in losses for its most recent fiscal year related to its decision to stop making webOS devices. That included accounting charges for loss of goodwill value and restructuring costs such as severance for laid-off workers. HP has said that it laid off an unspecified number of former Palm employees.

The company said Friday that it will remain “an active participant and investor” in the development and support of webOS, while encouraging the far-flung community of independent, open-source software programmers to help it evolve. HP did not say how much it will spend on the effort.

“WebOS is the only platform designed from the ground up to be mobile, cloud-connected and scalable,” Whitman said in a statement announcing the decision. “By contributing this innovation, HP unleashes the creativity of the open-source community to advance a new generation of applications and devices.”

Whitman, who was named CEO after HP fired Léo Apotheker in September, added in an interview that she would be happy to see other smartphone makers adopt the webOS platform. She also said HP will continue to evaluate whether to use the software in its own gadgets, such as printers or tablets.

“I don’t envision us getting back into the smartphone business,” she said. “I would say that tablets are probably the more likely thing, if HP were to build webOS hardware again.” HP has previously indicated that it will use Microsoft’s latest operating system for its next tablet offering.

Friday’s announcement was welcomed by a small but intensely loyal community of webOS developers, who had praised the software for some innovative features and who worried that HP might kill the product outright.

“This is definitely an exit strategy, and it’s not really a bad one,” said Al Hilwa, a mobile-software expert with the IDC technology research firm. “It does leave a line floating out there for the community to do things with webOS and help it evolve, but it also minimizes the potential costs for HP.”

The market for mobile operating systems is currently crowded, Hilwa added, noting that Microsoft and BlackBerry-maker RIM are dueling for third place behind Apple and Google’s Android. Under those circumstances, he said, it would require a “massive investment” in research and development to keep up with other market players.

“I’m not sure the open-source community alone can put webOS on the map,” Hilwa said. But he noted that HP’s decision is likely to earn the company good will from the independent developer community, which could help in creating and marketing future products.

Contact Brandon Bailey at bbailey@mercurynews.com or follow him at Twitter.com/BrandonBailey.

Hewlett-Packard and WebOS
A timeline of some key events related to Hewlett-Packard’s product offerings and strategy:
April 28, 2010: HP agrees to buy struggling Sunnyvale smartphone maker Palm for $1.2 billion. It says Palm’s webOS operating system will help boost its participation in the mobile market.
May 3, 2011: Leaked memo from CEO Léo Apotheker shows him warning of “another tough quarter” for the company. The memo says management needs to “watch every penny and minimize all hiring.”
Aug. 18: HP announces it will discontinue its tablet computer and smartphone products and may sell or spin off its PC division. The future of webOS is put into question.
Sept. 23: HP fires Apotheker after just 11 months and replaces him with billionaire businesswoman and political aspirant Meg Whitman, who accelerates an internal review on the fate of the PC division.
Oct. 27: HP says it will not spin off its PC division, with Whitman saying that keeping it is right for the company, its customers, shareholders and business partners. She says the future of webOS still isn’t known.
Friday: HP says that instead of selling its webOS mobile system or killing it off, it’s making it available as open-source software that anyone can use and modify freely. HP says it still plans to develop and support webOS. In offering it to the open-source community, the company is hoping more mobile apps will be developed under webOS.
Source: Associated Press